EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The Warriors start their postseason push in search of their sixth PSAC Championship, beginning in the quarterfinals against Gannon tomorrow morning. 

SCOUTING EAST STROUDSBURG

• The Warriors finished the regular season tied with West Chester, earning a share of the PSAC East Championship. Entering the tournament as the second seed in the East, they’ve gone 20-2 since the calendar turned to April. Doing so, they swept three of their series against Mansfield, Shippensburg, and Kutztown, while winning three games against both Bloomsburg and Shepherd. In non-conference competition, they defeated Queens and St. Thomas Aquinas in two road mid-week contests.
• In the newly released Atlantic Region rankings, the Warriors were placed third. This is the same ranking they’ve held the last couple of weeks, trailing the region leader Seton Hill and co-PSAC East champion West Chester, while tied with Millersville for third.
• ESU earned five All-PSAC selections, as well as Zander Condeelis being named the PSAC East Freshman of the Year, and HC John Kochmansky earning Coach of the Year honors. Ryan Dewees and Walker Zampella were the Warriors’ First Team selections, while Ethan Woods, Troy Davis, and Cole Dymek made the Second Team.
• Finishing the regular season, ESU ranked first in a handful of categories, and near the top of the leaderboard in a couple of others. The Warriors led the PSAC in fielding percentage, .982, fewest errors, 26, bases on balls, 287, fewest runs allowed, 183,  and most strikeouts, 382. Additionally, ESU was second in the conference in OBP, .443, and team ERA, 4.12.
• With three pitchers earning All-PSAC, the Warriors’ arms have been peaking at the right time. Dewees finished as the conference’s strikeout leader, striking out 81 batters with a 2.64 ERA. He’s coming off his second scoreless outing of the season in a three-hit performance over 5.0 IP against Kutztown.
• Ethan Woods rounded out the regular season with PSAC East Athlete of the Week, NCBWA Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Week, and All-PSAC East Second Team. He was named the top pitcher in the division in two of the last three weeks of the season, throwing five scoreless innings at Shippensburg and a complete game against Kutztown.
• Woods and Evan Hughes finished with identical 3.68 ERAs, bringing the combined ERA of the Warriors’ top three starters down to 3.03. Hughes has the best batting average against of the group, limiting batters to a .230 average, while only giving up 14 bases on balls this season.
• ESU’s bullpen has developed from a strength to an edge as the season has progressed, which could be a deciding factor with games increasing from seven to nine innings. Dymek led the teams with five saves in 13 appearances, posting a 1.64 ERA. The All-PSAC East Second Team member pitched 22.0 IP and only gave up four earned runs all year.
• The Warriors have a pair of lefties they’ll be able to turn to, with Peyton Brannock likely coming out of the bullpen alongside Caden Leonard. The two can eat innings as Brannock was the team’s fourth starter and averaged just under 5.0 IP per game over his last six starts. Since ESU opened April against Bloomsburg, Leonard hasn’t had an appearance go shorter than two full innings, pitching at least 4.0 twice during that span.
• Johansel Brito is primed to be ESU’s setup right-handed pitcher in relief, who has found his stride down the stretch. Brito hasn’t allowed a run since March 29, making five appearances for 6.0 IP, shutting out opponents with seven strikeouts, and only allowing two hits and four walks.
• The Warriors’ identity at the plate has been getting on base and causing chaos on the basepaths. With their conference-second-best OBP, they’ve also stolen the second-most bases, 111. ESU is led by Zampella, Davis, and Parker Frey, who all have an OPS above 1.000. Davis led the team in that, batting average, and slugging percentage, posting 1.026, .371, and .532 marks this season. He’s carrying an eight-game hitting streak into the postseason, the longest active one on the team.
• Zampella earned First Team honors after batting .355 with a .539 slugging percentage, striking out a career-low 24 times. He was the team leader in total bases with 82, and is tied for the longest reached-base streak, 18 games, and multi-RBI games, 8, on the team.
• Frey has provided excellent play all season long at the plate and on the infield, starting every game at first base. Batting .362, his 32 RBI are second on the team to Cole Serfass’ 39. Serfass has only missed one game and is second on the team in batting average, hitting .369.
• ESU hopes to get Condeelis healthy for the postseason, as the redshirt freshman filled in seamlessly as the team’s starting third baseman this season. Hitting .326 and striking out a team-low nine times, he’s been exceptional defensively as well, posting a fielding percentage of .984.
• The rest of the Warriors’ lineup is made up of Braydon Hubbard batting leadoff, veterans Easton Albert and Connor Reilly filling out the latter half, though designated hitter could be a couple of different players. Christian Maccarrone has gotten time as the DH, as he’s drawn 21 walks for an OBP of .438. While he filled in at third base, Chase Frantz and Gabe Gillespie split reps at DH. The former played in nine-straight games in mid-April, hitting .354 in those games, while the latter hit .308 in five of the team’s seven last games.

SCOUTING GANNON

• The Golden Knights finished above .500 for the first time since 2022, going 24-22 overall and 17-11 to finish the regular season third in the PSAC West. They’re making their first PSAC Tournament appearance since 2022 as well, when they finished the season as the top seed in the division.
• Against teams ranked in the Atlantic Region, Gannon went 4-11. The Golden Knights won one game in their four-game series against Seton Hill and Indiana (Pa.), won two of three at Shippensburg, but were swept at West Chester.
• The Golden Knights rank towards the middle of the pack in most categories, though the one thing they do well as a team is avoiding double plays. They’ve only grounded into 15 of those, the second-fewest in the conference.
• On the opposite side of those rankings, Gannon sits near the bottom in a couple of categories, such as the third-highest batting average against, .316, doubles allowed, 84, sixth-highest ERA, 6.96, and fifth-lowest OBP, .384.
• Outfielders Connor Smith and Matt Smith were the Golden Knights’ two All-PSAC West representatives when the conference announced its end-of-year awards, both making the second team. Matt ranks inside the top ten in one category among the conference, as he is tied for 7th with nine home runs, and is tied for fourth with 15 doubles.
• Matt leads the team with a .336 batting average, while also pacing the club with 88 total bases and a .642 slugging percentage. Connor has hit .322 this season, getting on base with a team-high .437 OBP.
• Hunter Troiano is third on the team with a .316 batting average and their leading scorer with 33 runs. His 15 extra-base hits rank third behind Matt, as he also leads the Golden Knights with 49 hits.
• With Gannon’s lineup likely going Connor-Troiano-Matt, Wes Parker is set to bat in the cleanup spot. He and Dom Costello are the Golden Knights’ fourth and fifth batters, hitting over .300, as Parker is tied with Matt with nine home runs. Those two are the only two batters with a slugging percentage over .500, as Parker is slugging .550.
• Costello and the Smiths make up Gannon’s outfield, only missing one game but starting in all other 45 contests. He’s batting .315, a hair behind Troiano for the team lead in terms of batting average and hits, 47.
• On the mound, Ryan Hood is expected to be the game one starter for the Golden Knights. He’s gone 5-2 in 11 starts, pitching and even 50.0 IP while allowing 40 earned runs for a 7.20 ERA. Hood’s last two outings have been two of his best this season, as he went 5.2 IP and allowed one run against Seton Hill, then ended the regular season with five scoreless innings versus Lock Haven.
• If it’s not Hood, then Jacob Engel will get the start for Gannon. Engel finished the season tied with Hood with five wins and has thrown 7.0 IP three times against Tiffin, Indiana (Pa.), and Slippery Rock. That durability could come in handy for the Golden Knights if Engel goes up against ESU, with games going nine innings in the postseason. His 5.08 ERA is the best of Gannon’s starters.
• Turning to the bullpen, Logan Ayres has been Gannon’s go-to guy. Leading the team with 19 appearances and five saves, he’s compiled a 5.09 ERA after allowing 13 earned runs in 23.0 IP.  Outside of Gannon’s two starters with over 40.0 IP, Ayres has allowed the most home runs with four this season. Even with only working out of the bullpen, Ayres is fourth on the team in strikeouts, retiring 25 batters by that method this year.
• Of Gannon’s 11 pitchers with over 10.0 IP, Logan Oakes is the only one with an ERA below 5.00. Pitching 13.0 IP in 10 appearances, he’s posted a 3.46 ERA and leads the team with a .186 batting average against.

SERIES HISTORY

• All six of ESU’s games against Gannon have been with Kochmansky in the dugout, as the Warriors have gone 5-1 since 2009. The first two were regular-season games at a neutral site, while the previous four were in postseason play. In those six games, ESU has outscored Gannon 58-22.
• In the PSAC Tournament, ESU has won two of the three meetings. Gannon’s only win in the all-time series came in the 2019 first round, winning 5-4. The last season these two teams met, they squared off in both the PSAC Tournament and the NCAA Atlantic Region Tournament. The Warriors came away victorious both times, winning 11-3 as the PSAC East four seed over the top-seeded Gannon in the first round, then defeating the Golden Knights once more, 14-6, in the regional round.